The Los Angeles Rams surprised fans on Sunday when they followed up their mesmerizing rushing display against the Las Vegas Raiders last week with a pass-happy approach out of 11 personnel against the Chargers. In their game against the Raiders, the Rams used multiple-TE packages. In 11 personnel, there are three wide receivers on the field, leaving room for only one tight end in the group.
The offense was awful for about 28 of the 30 minutes in the first half. Sports Illustrated's Blaine Grisak displayed that their inability to move the ball was tied to the personnel packages the team used. They virtually flipped their personnel usage from the first half to the second, going from using 13 personnel 20% of the time to using it on 63.6% of their second-half
snaps.
The big difference for the Rams and why the run game worked in the 2nd half...
— Blaine Grisak (@BGMediaOnSI) November 2, 2026
In the 1st half, the Rams operated just 20% of their offense out of 13P. They used 11P at a 75% rate.
In the 2nd half, that flipped. Rams operated out of 13P at a 63.6% rate to 24.2% in 11P.
However, the Rams learned an even more valuable lesson on Sunday. With under two minutes to go before halftime, the Rams conducted a drive that forced them to go up-tempo. There's something about going fast allows quarterback Matthew Stafford to decipher the coverage and spot his opportunities on his way towards the line of scrimmage from play to play, allowing him to call for the ball as soon as the offense is in position to catch the defense on their wrong foot.
Down 9-3, that's exactly what happened while the Rams were using 11 personnel. Keep in mind that on the previous five drives, the Rams went three-and-out three times, and the other two drives ended with an interception and a field goal after three plays. Zero efficiency, and then all of a sudden, even with three wide receivers, Stafford needed to go a little quicker to get into his rhythm before scoring the touchdown to take the lead.
On that drive, Stafford went 4-for-4 on passes for 65 yards, with 40 of them coming on a Tutu Atwell deep bomb that caught the defense sleeping. Kyren Williams then ran it in for a 1-yard score.
So, the big lesson is that 13 personnel is a great offense for managing the game, but when it's time to turn Stafford loose, it's no-huddle with 11 personnel. The key to offensive success for the Rams in 2026: tempo.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Tempo dictates the success of 11 personnel for the Rams
